This week I outline the major cuts stemming from the policy position of the O'Farrell Government I outlined last week. On
September 11 2012 the O'Farrell Government announced a
$1.6 billion budget cut to NSW public schools and TAFEs and the
abolition of 1800 teaching and non-teaching positions. These cuts are
the most severe in a generation and will affect the quality of
education provided by schools and TAFE.
Barry
O'Farrell has claimed that the $1.6 billion in cuts to public schools
is necessary to maintain the state's credit rating. This is despite
$1.8 billion in public funding being announced for
the WestConnex Motorway. At least $8.5 billion in public funding has
been announced for by Barry O'Farrell for transport projects. The
reality is that the purpose of the school budget cuts was to
prioritise roads over schools. The budgetary credentials of the
O'Farrell Government are questionable when the state Auditor-General
discovered
a
$1 billion accounting error leading to a $680 million government
surplus.
Australia
has one of the lowest taxation levels in the OECD and a below average
investment in education whilst being one of its fastest growing
economies. The proportion of the NSW state budget spent on education
has shrunk from 28.4% in 1989-90 to 22.4% currently. Clearly, instead
of cutting school budgets, the O'Farrell Government should be
increasing them.
As
part of the September 11 2012 school budget cuts, the O'Farrell
Government announced 400 job cuts from school regional offices and
800 job cuts from TAFE. This was on top of the
previously announced 200 jobs cut from the NSWDEC state
office and 400 school administrative job cuts. In an email
to all teachers the Director-General of Education Dr Michele Bruniges
admitted that as a result of the budget cuts student learning
outcomes would be affected in schools and TAFE. In the Sydney
Morning Herald Adiran
Piccoli acknowledged that the cuts to school curriculum support would
mean public schools would miss out on the support they
needed to implement the National Curriculum.
The
cuts to TAFE have led to the abolition of courses and increases in
fees in the arts, technical, trade and HSC equivalent courses. The
cuts to school regional offices have led to losses in equity
programs, Aboriginal Education, literacy, numeracy, and student
welfare programs.
It
is critical that the community makes it clear to the O'Farrell
Government that these cuts to public schools are unacceptable. One
simple action is to send an email
to the O'Farrell Government.
